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How to prevent tang flex?

Lets say a knife has a thin, flexy blade. Is there a way, other than to weld it to a different piece of metal, to prevent the metal from flexing in between the handle scales? Do wood scales usually prevent this enough on their own?

I'll be making an experimental paring knife soon, and don't want to finish it, and find out my flexy piece of steel will pop the handle scales off.

Hi Eamon, I've rehandled some really flexy tanged knives and found that the scales serve to stiffen up the action significantly once bolted up. I would think, however, that it's always possible to flex a blade enough to move inside the scales but I'd think that the scales would have to a) be not epoxied & b) only have pins used to allow any scale movement. Basically I'm saying that I think that it's not an issue really.

yep corbys are the best way and i have not had problems using pinstock on my 1/16 blade stock
that said i think more and more about jsut grinding 3/32 thick down to 1/16 at the blade and that way i get the best of both worlds (stiff tang flexy blade) i do all my fishing knives liek this now

yep corbys are the best way and i have not had problems using pinstock on my 1/16 blade stock
that said i think more and more about jsut grinding 3/32 thick down to 1/16 at the blade and that way i get the best of both worlds (stiff tang flexy blade) i do all my fishing knives liek this now

That is the most obvious solution, but it does make it a lot more expensive, and it's wasteful. You want a thick tang, but you don't need one with a fine carbide structure.